James Elroy Risch (born May 3, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is the junior United StatesSenator from Idaho and a member of the Republican Party. Previously he served in the Idaho State Senate, and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2006. He became Governor after the resignation of Dirk Kempthorne to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. As Governor Risch signed legislation that reduced property taxes by 20% and added $100 million in a "rainy day" fund for schools. [1]

Risch was elected to the United States Senate in 2008 with 58% of the vote. He serves in six Senate Committees, including the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Select Committee on Intelligence, Select Committee on Ethics, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Joint Economic Committee. He has voted with his Republican colleagues 93.5% of the time. [2]